Sharon Sackett, Ph.D.

Vice President of Talent Management

Sharon Sackett is at her best when building and developing talent management and leadership development programs for corporate clients who are driven to put the best people in the right places.  She has a “roll up your sleeves” approach to client partnerships that is cheerful and energetic.  Sharon loves to make thoughtful business decisions based on solid research and validated processes—helping clients build confidence in and show value for their organizations.

Sharon’s experience as an assessment consultant and executive coach includes engagements with General Mills, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Seagate, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Ecolab, just to mention a few.  Her specific expertise includes assessment centers, competency design, research and validation projects, and mid- to upper-level corporate executive coaching around priority setting, work/life balance, and increasing personal influence.

She is an “MDA boomeranger”—she first started with MDA in 1991 as a graduate student and came back again in 1998 as a senior consultant.  While away, she was Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Iowa.   She earned her B.A. in Business Administration and Psychology from Hamline University and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Minnesota.  Her teaching and coaching careers have converged around the theme of career choice and satisfaction for professionals.

Away from the office, Sharon is athletic—turning her previous marathon-running pursuits into chasing and playing with her two young children.  It’s a good idea to ask Sharon about homebuilding—she designs floor plans and prepares model homes for her family’s custom homebuilding business in greater Minnesota.